Schuyler Relay for Life raises $62K

WATKINS GLEN—For 12 hours, the Watkins Glen high school track was alive and buzzing Friday, June 8, with people to fight against cancer.
The track was host to the annual Schuyler County Relay for Life event. It started Friday evening at 7 p.m., and lasted until Saturday morning.
In the morning was when Tiffany Zimmer, manager of the event, announced the total amount raised by the event.
“I was almost shaking as I told everyone Saturday morning. Ok, here it is. We announced at $62,000,” said Zimmer. “Everyone burst into tears. This was truly an amazing event and they even all stayed to help clean-up. I don’t think they wanted to go home.”
This beat out the previous year of the Schuyler County event. Zimmer said last year the Schuyler relay raised $35,000, which was good for the event being in its third year.
The Watkins relay raised the money through different events. Zimmer explained one of the events was the “Relay Jail,” where participants were randomly taken to “jail” on stage. There they had to stay for 30 minutes, or raise $20 in “bail.” Zimmer said this raised over $500.
Another fundraiser was the Miss Relay Event. Zimmer said 15 male contestants dressed up “like beauty pageant women and they have one hour to walk the track and collect donations in their purses. At the end, the one with the most money was crowned Miss Relay of Schuyler County 2010. It may be a little silly, but this is one thing all of the participants look forward to and it is well-worth it. This contest alone brought in over $1,300!”
Speakers at the opening ceremony included Watkins Glen Superintendent Tom Phillips and Jordan Shea, 12 years old and a cancer survivor. On the sides of the track, a smattering of luminary bags and stands shared space. People at stands sold snacks, mementos, and even gave away beads to mark how many laps a person had completed. Tents also filled the inside of the track, with children playing games with each other in between laps.